An Econometric Analysis of Residential Water Demand in Cyprus

This paper analyses econometrically residential water demand in the three major urban areas of Cyprus, a semi-arid country with medium to high income levels. Water demand turns out to be inelastic, but not insensitive, to prices; price elasticity is less than unity in absolute terms, but significantly different from zero. The analysis further shows that periodic interruptions in household water supply, which were applied as an urgent water saving measure in 2008–2009, did not encourage water conservation among the population. The paper discusses these results, pointing at the need for appropriate water pricing policies and long-term planning in order to move towards sustainable water resource management.     

甘肃省水利工程水价改革综合评价及预期目标

甘肃省水价改革总体进展顺利,工程水费收入稳步增长,有利于节约用水的水价机制正在形成。“十一五”期间将继续推进水价改革,完善水价管理,建立成本约束机制,推行科学的计价方式,推行终端水价。     

Integrated Water Resources Management in the Republic of Uzbekistan

Abstract

The Uzbek socio-economic structure is characterized by the transition from a centrally-planned to a market-orientated economy, with a shifting from agricultural production to industrial development. However, the agricultural sector continues to play a significant role in a general economy of the country. The major water sector strategy is to decrease the dependence of agricultural production on climate by introducing advanced irrigation techniques and water saving methods to achieve future sustainable socio-economic development and environmental protection. Water management policy should be flexible enough to adapt to new demands. The regulation of consumption through demand management tools, such as appropriate pricing policies, has recently received greater attention in Uzbekistan. The main thesis of this paper is that allocation of water resources cannot be separated from ecological and economic considerations. The establishment of development objectives and the identification of constraints are also discussed. In the coming years, special attention will need to be paid to the control of water pollution and land salinization, water resources conservation, and acknowledging that actions to increase water productivity are as important as finding additional sources of water.     

Rules and Roles in Water Policy and Management

Abstract

Water policy and management are currently subject to a significant change. Water users and other stakeholders are gradually playing a much more active and also constructive role. This is no substitute for government efforts. Public sector activities and regulatory arrangements are of vital importance. Traditional functions and orientation of work need, however, to be modified, and new tasks are forcing themselves on to the national, municipal, and local agendas. Interaction between government, civil society organizations, and professionals must be based on a policy where water is made everybody's business and where the various components of management, i.e., development of the resource, provision, actual use, and disposal after use, are considered. With a policy where the relations between water, people, development, and the environment are duly recognised, it becomes imperative and natural that the rules for water management are defined that allow various stakeholders to contribute to achieve water security.     

Modeling the Effects of Conservation,Demographics, Price,and Climate on Urban Water Demand in Los Angeles,California

With a service area population exceeding four million people and with close to 90 % of the water supply being imported from sources outside the city, the Los Angeles water system is subject to multiple stressors, including climate change and population growth. The influence of various factors on water demand in Los Angeles was evaluated through development and application of multiple linear regression models for residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental water demand categories from 1970 to 2014 in the service area of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Performance of the models in describing historical water demand was compared using the coefficient of determination, mean average percent error, and normalized root mean square error. Overall, the results of the linear regression models demonstrated that each water demand category is affected by different parameters. However, price and population were found to have the most significant impact on all categories. The seasonality of residential water demand was well described with the model based on monthly data, with precipitation and temperature being highly significant factors. Fitting of the residential data furthermore revealed that price and conservation have significantly counteracted the impact of population growth on water demand.     

What Drives Water Utility Selection of Pricing Methods? Evidence from California

Water Resources Management - Water pricing is a demand management strategy to address the looming challenge of greater water scarcity in arid regions. Much of the literature on residential water...     

Water Pricing: Issues and Options in Turkey

Water pricing occupies a central place in water sector reforms. The paper discusses its global importance and analyses the existing institutions and legal frameworks for irrigation water pricing in Turkey. In view of the gradually expanding large irrigation infrastructure in the South-eastern Anatolia Project region of Turkey, it makes a case for the adoption of full organization and management cost recovery for irrigation water supplies and the establishment of a volumetric system of billing in place of the present crop and area system.     

Water and Sustainable Development in Ghana

Abstract

Water is vital for the survival and development of every community or society. The health of a given community is reflected to a large extent in the water quality of the community's available water resources. In Ghana, efforts have been made since colonial days to supply both the urban and the rural communities with potable water to enhance the rapid socio-economic development of the country. It is economically viable due to the remoteness of most of the rural communities to supply them with potable water from local sources such as groundwater. The urban water supply systems are mainly based on surface water sources. With the ever-expanding population, there is a need to improve freshwater resources conservation and management in order to avoid impending shortages. To ensure the total coverage of all rural and urban communities by the year 2020, a huge capital outlay of $1 billion and 51.5 billion, respectively, is needed. Most of these funds are expected to come from the private sector, both local and foreign, with the Government making some substantial contribution.     

Outdoor Water Use as an Adaptation Problem: Insights from North American Cities

Recent efforts to influence the efficiency and timing of urban indoor water use through education, technology, conservation, reuse, economic incentives, and regulatory mechanisms have enabled many North American cities to accommodate population growth and buffer impacts of drought. It is unlikely that this approach will be equally successful into the future because the source of conservation will shift from indoor to outdoor use. Outdoor water is climate sensitive, difficult to measure, hard to predict, linked to other components of complex and dynamic urban resource systems, imbued with behavioral and cultural dimensions, and implicated in societal conflicts about climate risk, modern lifestyles, social justice, and future growth. Outdoor water conservation is not a traditional management problem focused on the water sector, assuming a stationary climate, and set aside from public debate. Instead, outdoor water is an adaptation problem, involving complex and uncertain system dynamics, the need for cross-sector coordination, strategies for dealing with climatic uncertainty, and mechanisms for engaging stakeholders with differing goals. This paper makes the case for treating outdoor water as an adaptation problem and offers a six-point strategy for how cities can better prepare their water systems for the uncertainties of climate and societal change.     

Water Use and Transfer Scenarios in El Paso County,Texas, USA

Abstract

In this multidisciplinary study, mathematical and economic tools are used to assess the potential benefits of water transfers between the agricultural and municipal sectors in El Paso County, Texas. The scenarios are based on water consumption and revenue data over the last 20 years. The study demonstrates that pima cotton has historically consumed the greatest quantities of water while generating the least revenue to farmers (average gross revenues over 20 years equals US$300/acre-foot of water); peppers and onions have gross revenues of US$980/acre-foot and US$1,260/acre-foot, respectively. The study also indicates that equal amounts of water generate higher revenues in the municipal sector versus the agricultural sector. In 1999, 90,000 million gallons of water would have generated US$175,000,000 in the municipal sector in comparison to US$90,000,000 in the agricultural sector. Finally, an “El Paso Water Transfer Center” is proposed to create a water market in El Paso County and dictate water prices based on supply/demand interactions. The water transfer center will also insure that farmers receive monetary incentives for the water they conserve and transfer to the municipal sector.

An acre-foot (AF) is the volume of water that would cover one acre to a depth of one foot, which is 43,560 cubic feet or 1233.5 cubic meters. This measurement unit is used in this paper since the literature, agreements and negotiations rely on acre-foot measurements in this region. Keeping the units in acre-feet will facilitate negotiations and applications of this study to regional users.     

Water Price Reforms in China: Policy-Making and Implementation

Following the conviction that economic and pricing approaches are an essential addition to conventional command-and-control environmental regulation, China has gradually increased attention to, research on and experiments with the application of economic instruments in urban water management over the past two decades. This paper analyzes the actual application and implementation of economic instruments in Chinese urban water sectors, applying an ecological modernization perspective. Water tariffs in China have increased sharply over this period, increasingly representing full costs and increasing water use efficiency. But implementation of water tariffs does run into problems of unclear responsibilities, poor collection rates and institutional capacities. It is concluded that Chinese style ecological modernization should pay more attention to the institutional dimensions of natural resource pricing policies, if it is to profit from the theoretical advantages of economic approaches in urban water management.     

我国水资源利用效率和节水潜力

为分析我国水资源利用效率和节水潜力,以海河流域为参照地区,基于1999年、2002年和2007年全国和海河流域水利投入占用产出表,通过比较全国和海河流域分部门的用水效率,建立了分部门节水潜力的计算模型,并应用该模型计算了全国相对海河流域生产部门中分三次产业和分51部门及消费部门中居民部门的节水潜力。计算结果表明:全国相对海河流域的总节水潜力在1999—2007年期间不断扩大;全国第一产业和第二产业中的工业部门相对海河流域的节水潜力较大,第二产业中的建筑业和第三产业相对海河流域的节水潜力较小;全国居民部门相对海河流域的节水潜力主要体现在农村居民部门,城镇居民部门相对海河流域的节水潜力为负。从细分的51部门来看,除农业部门以外,全国相对海河流域节水潜力较大的部门主要有电力及蒸汽热水生产和供应业(不含水电)、化学工业、金属冶炼及压延加工业、造纸印刷及文教用品制造业、食品制造及烟草加工业等。     

Blueprint for a greener city: growth need not cost the earth.

The current human use of global natural resources exceeds the long-term sustainable capacity of the planet. New and more sustainable ways of building cities and providing urban water services are needed. The Australian city of Sydney is expected to grow by more than 1 million people over the next 30 years. Water use from the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system already exceeds system capacity. Current proposals to allocate a greater proportion of low flows to meet environmental flow needs will limit urban water allocations and require the development of more efficient water and sewerage systems for new and existing urban development. This paper presents a hypothetical case study of how water supply and sewerage services might be provided for an additional 1 million people over a 25-year period. It compares traditional service provision with alternative scenarios incorporating water conservation measures, rainwater harvesting and water reuse. The paper presents both economic and environmental comparisons. The economic comparisons include valuations of environmental externalities in the form of environmental levies. It shows that the extra capital costs of water conservation, alternative water sources and water reuse scenarios are offset by operating savings and environmental benefits. Ecological footprints are reduced because of lower water diversions, discharges, energy use and CO2 emissions. The paper also discusses the implication of alternative infrastructure ownership and water pricing arrangements, and the opportunities to create incentives for additional investment in water conservation and reuse projects.     

泾惠渠灌区推进末级渠系水价改革

陕西省泾惠渠灌区结合中日技术合作大型灌区节水改造示范项目和续建配套与节水改造．通过完善计量设施，实行开票到户，增加水费收取透明度等一系列措施，积极推进水价改革，建立起了科学合理的农业用水价格形成机制和灌溉水费收取制度。     

Development of Public Private Partnership (PPP) Projects in the Chinese Water Sector

This study analyzes the transformation of urban water services in China since the late 1990s focusing on the interaction between the government and private players in the form of public private partnership projects. A lack of fund, outdated technologies and management skills, and underpriced water tariffs had deteriorated urban water services in China. Chinese authorities decided to adopt private sector participation in the urban water sector. The institutional reform has attracted private players to contribute to public private partnership projects. Water multinationals and Chinese companies have actively participated in such new development. But a myriad of risks are identified in the Chinese water market, including socio-political, institutional and regulatory, revenue and foreign exchange, and project construction and operation risks. The key to success of this policy shift depends on the extent to which Chinese authorities can provide an institutional platform for improvement of urban water services with the participation of private players. Also the changing role of the government from a service provider to a regulator is necessary.     

辽宁省节水型社会建设的发展与思考

辽宁省人均水资源占有量远低于全国和世界平均水平,是水资源严重缺乏的省份。为了保证经济社会发展的用水需求,辽宁省在开发水资源的同时,逐步加大了节水力度,相继建立了各级节水机构,开展节水宣传,逐渐提高人们的节水意识,制定实施了计量收费、计划管理、超计划加价收费等节水政策措施,初步实现了用水定额管理,启动了节水型社会建设试点。     

Estimating the Potential Impacts of Irrigation Water Pricing Using Multicriteria Decision Making Modelling. An Application to Northern Greece

A great challenge of the current European water policy is the implementation of volumetric water pricing in the agricultural sector, especially of Mediterranean countries, where irrigation is a necessary precondition of agricultural production and farmers’ income, but also the major consumer of water. The overall aim of the present work is to develop a methodology that will be suitable for the estimation of the potential environmental, economic and social impacts of irrigation water pricing. For this purpose, Multi-Attribute Utility Theory is implemented in order to simulate agricultural decision making at various water pricing scenarios. Water demand functions are then elicited, by means of the best crop and water allocation (farmers’ decisions) in each scenario. The European Water Framework Directive recommends that any issue concerning water resources management (including water pricing policies) should be developed at the river basin level. In this framework, a cluster analysis is performed to partition the river basin area (namely, Loudias River Basin, located in Northern Greece) into a small number of homogeneous sub-regions. The differential impact of water pricing in each region is then analyzed, and finally, an average water demand function is formulated for the whole river basin.     

Political and Professional Agency Entrapment: An Agenda for Urban Water Research

The many societal benefits provided by traditional, centralised urban water servicing models are being re-examined following recent extreme weather events, climate uncertainty and other variable socio-technical trends. Total water cycle management offers a more flexible and resilient approach to urban water management, however, transformative change in the sector is difficult. A growing number of scholars have identified that the urban water sector is locked-in to the current large-scale, centralised infrastructure model and suggest the sector is unable to accommodate new technologies and management approaches beyond niche projects. Based on extensive socio-institutional research and example cases from Australian and United Kingdom experiences managing urban water under pressures such as modern environmentalism, prolonged water scarcity and sewerage overflows, this paper provides a commentary on common factors exhibited in both countries related to technological path dependency. Three key factors promoting this pathway: political risk, professional agency fear and a lack of a hybrid governance approach are discussed and a future scholarly research agenda is presented.     

Social performance in public services delivery: conceptual roots and results for the Portuguese water sector

This study explores the relationship between social performance and the sector providing the water service. The empirical analysis demonstrates that public property, the management model (in this case bureaucracy and municipal corporations), and lower organizational costs for public property and public management models do present higher social performance (lower user prices and higher quality water levels, with exceptions) levels than private firms. Policy implementations are clear: cease private firms' entrance into public services delivery until lower organizational costs, higher quality services and lower user prices are secured. This also raises discussions about neo-bureaucracies as the ideal management model for public services provision.     

北京水务信息资源目录研究与实践

水务信息资源是水务行业建设发展的重要资源之一。通过北京水务信息资源编目工作,形成详细的北京水务业务目录树,提出北京水务信息资源目录框架体系共分3层结构,即业务层、信息资源层和核心元数据层,详细分析了核心元数据标准的18项指标,并介绍了目录管理信息系统的功能、界面。北京市水务信息资源目录,对于北京水务系统各单位来说,有3个方面的应用,具体应用时,要结合业务事项实际,对元数据内容进行扩展。